In the fabrication of roll products, such as paper towelling or toilet tissue, the product is initially wound in the form of a long roll or log which is subsequently cut into small rolls and packaged for shipment and sale. If the free end or tail of the roll is not securely fastened to the body of the roll, the slitting and packaging operations may not be properly performed in which event the packaging machinery may jam or excess paper from the roll may protrude from the package resulting in an unsightly appearance. On the other hand, if the tail is too tightly secured to the roll, it is difficult for the consumer to separate the tail from the body of the roll. The primary customer complaint to roll products is a tail that is too securely fastened to the body of the roll.
In the past, various types of apparatus have been utilized for sealing the tail to the roll. In the most common type of tail sealer, the long roll or log is kicked onto a pair of parallel rotatable rollers and the log is rotated while subjected to an air blast to release the tail from the body of the roll. With the tail released, a flying adhesive head moves longitudinally over the extended tail to deposit a bead of adhesive on the tail. After application of the adhesive, the roll is again rotated to wind the tail onto the roll body and the roll is then kicked laterally onto a discharge conveyor.